White Food is not the color of RAW.

My Director treated me to lunch today after three tedious days of Inventory Quarantine at the Bookstore. Actually I was invited to join her, her partner and a friend of theirs, and honored. Some time away from the store, sounded refreshing.

Olive Garden. The never ending bowl of pasta. She was concerned that maybe I wouldn’t find anything on the menu, knowing that I was into my 90-day RAW experiment. I knew they served salad, so I reassured her I would be fine.

An interesting observation about raw food is so little of it is white. To be surrounded by meals that were white was noticeable in contrast to what I have been accustom to lately. Even my salad was nearly white, made up of mostly iceberg and onions, saved by the few tomatoes my dining buddies let me snag. The Italian dressing, I am sure not of the caliber of dressing I am use to throwing on my salads at home, I have to admit, made my taste buds sing! Sugar?

The plate next to me, cheese ravioli served in Alfredo sauce, took my breath away. This was the first time, since I started this, that I felt the old feeling of….something, I am not sure... and when the white soft bread sticks were dipped in the sauce, topped with fresh grated Parmesan cheese…well, food envy was definitely tugging at those memories of my old comfort foods. The feeling subsided as I got more absorbed into the shared conversation.

Tonight I thoroughly enjoyed my beautiful vibrant dark green salad that was ignored at lunch. Made with marinated mushrooms, heirloom tomatoes, tomatilloes, sliced chili peppers, avocado and green onions. This! Is live food.

For dessert; dried fruit, a few raw energy cubes from the local organic market, and a glass of hazelnut milk to stoke my body for tomorrow morning's workout. This night time combination has been working very well for me.

Raw Note:
Though my commitment to raw food is strong, to some, comprising on my salad dressing today may have been a significant indiscretion. But......"no food life style should be a religion", well over used, but I don't know how to express my feelings any better. My other thought is, that to deny myself joining these beautiful ladies for a meal would have been the greater sin.